Introducing Stella Simbo, Newcastle Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care Project Manager

We are delighted to introduce Stella Simbo, who joined us at the beginning of September as our Newcastle Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care Project Manager, a brand new role within our Health Equity team.

She has prepared a short blog to help our community get to know her better. If you have any questions, or would just like to get in touch, you can reach her at stella.simbo@connectedvoice.org.uk or on 0191 235 7022.

"My career background lies in teaching and working within educational charities. I have worked as a primary school teacher both in the UK and overseas, as a freelance educator working with both primary and secondary students, and as a Volunteer Coordinator and a Youth Project Leader. 

Two things which I care deeply about, and which have formed threads running through my past roles, are learning and supporting the creation of caring communities that bring together the talents, perspectives and experiences of individuals from diverse backgrounds - spaces through which people can gain wider access to opportunities, begin to realise their potential, and also have a collective positive impact.

I have long been an advocate for the use of digital technologies to connect people, expand worlds, and promote collaboration and creativity. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, shone a harsh light on the existence and deepening of inequalities in access to digital tools. It also rightly shifted our perception of digital access from being something merely life-enhancing to something which is essential in almost every area of life. I feel fortunate to have been in a position during Covid, through my role within a small charity, to take direct action to build the confidence of those we worked with and to support them with the training, connectivity and devices they needed to address digital exclusion.

I'm extremely excited to join Connected Voice and take up the role of Newcastle Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care Project Manager. I am passionate about inclusion and the idea of holistic health and wellbeing. This role will provide the opportunity to work in partnership with individuals and organisations from across all sectors, including the NHS, Local Authority, the wider VCSE, research and industry. The project will seek to pull together and build upon all the wonderful work that is being done in Newcastle and apply local, regional and national learnings to further promote and improve digital inclusion, and with that increase equity in access to health and social care."

Again, if you would like to contact Stella, you can reach her at stella.simbo@connectedvoice.org.uk, or on 0191 235 7022.